The exhibition will showcase the architect of the Prague library and residence

source: Wikipedia.org

Prague - Starting today, an exhibition commemorating the 140th anniversary of the birth of architect František Roith will be freely accessible at Prague's Mariánské náměstí. A representative of architecture in a monumental academic spirit, he is, among other things, the author of the Municipal Library building, which was one of the most modern in Europe at its time and features elements of Art Deco in its interiors. The building also houses the residence of the Prague mayor. The exhibition focuses on this and will last until November 4.

František Roith was born in 1876 in Prague. He studied under Josef Zítko at the German Technical School, and later under Otto Wagner at the Vienna Academy. He began working independently in 1907 when he designed his first buildings. Initially, these were residential villas in Černošice, Prague's Ořechovka, Jíloviště, and Olomouc. He also participated in several technical constructions.

After World War I, he became a representative of the so-called official Prague architecture in a monumental academic style. A characteristic feature of his buildings is a simple and volumetrically full layout, the use of cladding, and pilaster divisions.

He designed the building of the Ministry of Finance in Malá Strana and the Ministry of Agriculture in Těšnov. He is the author of the Postal Check Office building at Wenceslas Square (now Commercial Bank) and the Trade Bank near Republic Square (now the headquarters of the Czech National Bank). He died in 1942.

The mayor's residence occupies the entire first and second floors of the front section of the Municipal Library. It is accessed via a private entrance from the corner of Platnéřská and Žatecká streets. The first floor houses representative and reception rooms, while the second floor contains the mayor's private apartment, a private study, and three suites for the mayor's guests.

Roith's collaborator on the decoration of the residence and the author of the ceiling painting, carpets, tapestries, upholstery fabrics, and textile wallpapers was František Kysela, while painter Josef Sejpka contributed to the decorative painting.

The exhibition will showcase the construction of the residence through period photographs, as well as the current state of the interiors as they were restored in the 1990s. There will be an open house at the residence on the national holiday, October 28.